A Spider's Thread
by NicoDiAngelo234
Summary: A spiders thread is like a lot life some times. It can be as smooth as silk one minute, but in the next it runs into a ruff patch. Luckily,most of the time said ruff patches are few and far in between. A wonderful thing about life is that it, like the spiders thread, it sometimes takes crazy turns. This story is about how one girl's life changed for the better because of it.
1. Chapter 1

_**A Spiders Thread**_

_**by NicoDiAngelo235**_

Speech Key:

"talking"

_'thinking'_

**"Other language"**

**A/N: ****: Hello all! Now I know what you guys are thinking 'Oh my gosh! Your actually alive!', Yes, I am alive. I have thought of starting another story for a while now, so I said 'What the hell' hence why I am here. Anyway for my _The Life of Sheila: The Sister of Goku_ fans the new chapter will come out soon and since I took so long it will be extra long. Any who, Peace Out!**

**_Narrator_**

Life is a funny thing, with all its twists and turns and surprise endings and what not. It contradicts itself a lot by being very cruel one second and amazingly kind the next. Sometimes it decides to take a turn that no one expects. But every once in a while, Fate will pull an amazing stunt that is exceptionally unbelievable, may it be an awesome and good one or a horrible, nasty one. This is a story about one of those rare times, and how one girl ended up becoming way happier because of it.

. . . .

**_Katie_**

Katie was fifteen and had just got off work at the local library, where she worked from seven in the morning to six in the evening. It was December and it had snowed all day in the little town of Point Pleasant that she called her home, so she had to be extra careful coming home on her motor bike. Now she knew the stereotype where this cool, tough, and hot chick rides a motor cycle and she is not afraid of an any thing and everyone loves her. Well, she considered herself the opposite. In her opinion she looked quite plain. Her eyes were a piercing blue/gray and framed by blue glasses that made her look like the smart type. The long hair that fell in uncontrollable curly waves down her back had streaks of blonde with a dark brown underneath. The teenager was really tall for a girl, standing at a whopping 5'7 an a half. She was healthy person, weighing at 150 pounds. Which was lot bigger than most girls at her school.

To top it off, she was a loner. Books were her life, along with cartoons and anime, TMNT and DBZ to name a one. Also having a love for animals and anything she thought cute, it was a secret dream of hers to some day own a horse. Being very intelligent, with all top marks in every class, with the exception of math, where she came in second. Usually, people only talked to her if they wanted to be tutored, and it was strictly business. Most of all, she often found it hard to make friends, being very shy in nature, but don't let that fool you. She could be vicious when provoked to an extent, and defended someone furiously when she felt they were being wronged in some way. Although, she usually didn't cuss unless angry, really excited, was really hurt or had just woke up. Anyway, she never had a true friend. The teenager didn't get the other girls in her school, who wore make up and talked about boys all the time. She much preferred and enjoyed her animals, books, cartoons, and anime thank very much.

With all of this joined, she was pretty invisible in the school part of her life. At home it wasn't much better. She lived with her two brothers, mom, and her little brother's dad.

Her older brother Andy, was two years ahead of her and her complete opposite. He had coal-black hair, was skinny, and he was straight F student. All he cared about were his friends, his video games, and anything else considered his. And for some reason, he hated Katie. He called her names like 'nerd' and 'freak'. He got incredibly jealous if she got something and he didn't. And he would sometime resort to violence. When she was four and he was six, she was playing on her mother's bed, when he came in the room and, for no reason what so ever, sprayed her right in the eyes with Windex window cleaner. When ever she got hurt, he wasn't much help in the comforting department. For example, when Katie was eight and he was ten, she cut her leg on a rusty nail and while she sat there crying in the yard with blood poring out of the wound, her brother stood and laughed at her. Even though he did all of that, Katie still didn't hate him, he was her brother, she still loved him, she just strongly disliked him.

Jayce, her three-year old brother, was twelve years younger, so he couldn't be as much trouble. He had brown hair and green eyes and was bigger than most five-year olds. Jayce was the only one Katie actually liked as a person as we'll as loved as her brother. Sure there were moments she wanted to never see him again, but nobodies perfect.

Her mother was a big woman, weighing over three hundred and standing at 5'5. She had brown hair and eyes. She was kind of lazy, mostly staying in her room unless she was cleaning or making food. Sometimes Katie felt like her mom didn't like her very much, because she would some times yells at her for no reason, but she loved her any way.

Chris, her little brothers father, looked like an older version of him, and she didn't like him.

Period.

Katie's grandma used to live with them in the house, but . . . she died of a heart attack two years ago. Kate was thirteen and it had devastated her. Her grandmother was her only and best friend. She could feel the tears coming, so Katie tried not to think about her dead grandmother, but her mind betrayed her. Images of her face flashed through Katie's mind. _Her grandma's long black hair and kind brown eyes staring at Katie lovingly. Her short figure standing next her on the porch. She comforting her when her mother didn't come home for Easter. And finally, finding her lying cold in her bed with her eyes, that were always filled with a fierce, wild-fire and always so **alive**, staring unseeing with cold, glazed look, like the fire had been extinguished._

Now the tears flowed freely down Katie's face as the bitter wind whipped around her. But the wind had nothing on the sadness that rushed though every pore of her body. She accelerated the motor cycle, trying to run away from sad and happy memories. Viciously, she shoved all those memories in the back of her mind. For a split second, Katie closed her eyes, trying to calm down the raging tornado of emotions running in chaos through her mind.

Katie never stood a chance.

In the time she had been submerged in memories and had closed her eyes, she hadn't noticed the black truck ahead of her that was swerving on the road in a way that screamed that the driver was drunk. By the time she saw it, all she could do was swerve out the moron's path and before she knew it, she was headed straight for the guard rail. When in the split second she registered what was going to happen, Katie had time for one last thought.

'_I'm sorry guys, I love you'_

She pictured her mom's and brothers' faces in her mind's eye.

Her front tire hit the guard rail, flipping her head over heals over the handle bars. As she saw the ground rushing up to meet her, she stuck out her arm on reflex, trying to catch her self-

_SNAP!_

That was the sound of her arm breaking as all of her weight landed on it, followed closely by her head bouncing off the unforgiving ground that was frozen due to the recent weather. All Katie could register was the unbearable pain that came with it as her head became fuzzy from the hit. She knew she would pass out soon as she bounced a few times, flipping, flopping, and bending unnaturally until she landed awkwardly again, this time on her ankle, before Katie started to roll down the hill, that she knew ended with a lake. Through the pain and the fuzziness in her brain from the hit on the head, she felt her self hit the ice-cold water. Right before the sweet, blessed darkness of unconsciousness took her in its embrace, Katie thought saw a flash of pure white. She didn't have time to wonder on it as she blacked out.

* * *

Katie woke up after what felt like three seconds later, twenty feet deep in murky water. Panicking, Katie stupidly opened her mouth trying to suck in air, but all she got for her trouble was water. Her lungs felt like they were lit on fire, they burned so bad. She flailed wildly, trying to desperately reach the surface. Somehow, she made up to the surface with all her flailing. Her head broke above water, as she spit, coughed and hacked all the water out of her body until she was just dry heaving. Katie just floated there for a second, her shivering and abused body trying to calm down from the near drowning.

After she got her body somewhat under control, Katie told her self to figure how far away from shore she was. Looking up, she thanked her lucky stars she hadn't lost her glasses. It would be hell to be tired, hurt and blind as a bat. Looking around her, she did not recognize any thing until she looked straight ahead and saw a very familiar skyline. It was foggy and smoky but there was no mistaking that skyline that had been in so many movies and videos. She froze, staring in bewildered disbelief as she registered what she was seeing.

Katie was in effing New York City.

She closed her eyes and opened them again hopes that she was just imagining the giant Empire State Building she saw in the distance. Nope, it was still there in all its giant glory.

'_What in the hell! There is now way I could be here! I live thousands of hundreds of miles away from here! THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!'_ she thought in panic.

Katie was starting hyperventilate and she knew if she didn't calm down she would soon faint. Already she could see the blackness at the edge of her vision. Forcing her self to breathe normally, Katie waited until she couldn't see the black at the edge of her vision any more.

Katie shook her, trying to thing rationally "Alright, I'll figure how I got here later, now I gotta get to shore before I faint" she told her self in a reassuring manner.

Already she felt exhausted, but Katie knew she had to get out of the water unless she wanted to get hypothermia. Since her left arm was broken, she'd have to swim sideways toward the dock. It took her a good thirty minuets, but eventually she made.

The battered girl managed to drag her self on to land after much struggling and effort. Katie just stood there for a while, shaking in exhaustion. _'Okay, Katie. Now figure out how much damage was done from the crash'_ she thought to her self. Wiggling her toes, she noted the shock pain that came with it that was coming from her left ankle. She knew her legs were mostly okay, since they were now in use. Then, Katie used her unbroken right arm to poke her self from the waist up. The hips and stomach had some nasty bruising, and when she breathed in it hurt so Katie probably had a cracked or broken rib. Her poor head was also throbbing so much it felt like the mother of all migraines.

Katie started walking, looking for a police officer, a pay phone, or at the very least some place to rest. Staying to the shadows, she traveled as fast as she could go. Some how, she knew that this part of the city was not going to beneficial to her cause. Katie's ankle throbbed at every step, and she kept getting increasingly tired before she admitted defeat and entered a dark ally. Dropping like a sack of flour to the ground, she sat breathing raggedly. It felt like Katie's eyes were holding up lead weights and she dimly realized she had got a concussion. Shakily, she got on her hands and knees and half crawled, half dragged her self behind a dumpster so she would at least be somewhat safe. Then Katie finally surrendered to the black darkness of sleep that had hovered in the back of her mind since wakening up in the ocean.

* * *

When Katie woke up the next day and came out of the ally, she realized that she must have slept for long time, because it was dark again. _'Just like my rotten luck_' she thought darkly. Fate had apparently decided to be a bitch to her today, because she felt only a little better than yesterday. That thrice damned headache had receded a little and Katie was thankful for that, but her broken arm had turned a dark blue and pain shot up it at the slightest movement. Her breathing was ragged, because every time she breathed her chest would flare up in white-hot pain. Walking felt like she was running a marathon because her ankle felt worse every time the poor girl put her weight on it. At least her clothes had dried off, so she wasn't cold.

This time Katie didn't bother to stay to the shadows as she walked right on the side-walk. She was attempting to find a doctor's office or even better a hospital to get her injuries treated, but it wasn't exactly working out. After leaning against a wall trying to catch her breath for the fourth time, she decided to try to figure out how she had gotten so many miles away from home. Idly, Katie wondered what her family had thought when she didn't come home. _'Andy was probably ecstatic'_ she thought with a bitter, dark smile.

Pushing off the wall, she continued down the street. The whole time she had walked, she didn't see not one person anywhere. It was just her god damned luck at work here once again. And people said that this city never sle-

"Well well, what do we have here. What you doin' out so late pretty thing"

Katie froze, her heart picking up speed and the pain fading to the back of her mind as the fear spread through her battered and bruised body as her fight or flight reflex activated. Slowly turning, she faced the voice. Four men stood behind her. They were wearing the typical get up a gang from the cheesy movies would. Now, Katie knew, she was in trouble. She was injured and tired an even if she was able to out run these guys, she could hurt her self even further than she already was.

"Get away from me," Katie tried not to let the fear that was trickling down her spine like cold water show on her face and in sound of her voice.

All the men smile at each other in a way that she was reminded of a pack of wolves closing in on a frightened deer who had reared up on its hind legs had begone kicking its hooves at them.

"Ya, sure beautiful? Me an' my boys here could give a real goo' time" said the biggest man. He leered at her in a way that made the teen want to be sick.

Suddenly, Katie was angry. Angry at her situation, her helpless to do any thing, and most of all she was angry at this lech of a guy that was probably twice her age suggesting such a thing as that. She realized through the swirling torrent of anger that this wasn't going to help in the slightest, but she'd be damned if she didn't try to make it help.

"Piss off, you ass" Katie spat at the man who was obviously the leader, glaring fire daggers into his beady eyes.

One the 'men' behind him laughed.

"Ooh, this one is feisty. Y'all have to take turns" he said, nudging his buddies. They all laughed at the crude joke.

The anger left as quickly as it came, only to replaced by the fear. In an instant Katie's body was ready to take off. The crippling fear wiped away the pain of her injuries. Her eyes watched the man intensely, waiting for the slightest twitch so she could run. The leader took a step forward and that was the excuse she needed as she took off like a shot down the street, pumping her legs as fast as she could. Katie could hear the gangs pounding footsteps as they ran in pursuit of her as she ran down the street like a deer from a pack of wolves. Cutting into an ally, she looked over her shoulder and saw them running after her. Her eyes widened. There was supposed to be four guys running after her, but she could only see three shapes.

In the moment Katie realized this, she bodily crashed into another person, sending both of them to the ground. Even with all her injuries screaming at her in protest, she struggled and flailed fiercely as she tried to get free and the man tried to pin her. Luckily, Katie was able to get her good arm free and she promptly socked her assailant right in the face, making sure to put all her weight into the punch. As the man fell back, swearing all the way, she got to her feet and took off down the street again.

Racing through the street, Katie knew if she didn't lose these goons soon she would get caught. Pumping her legs as fast as they would go, she cut into another ally. Swearing like Raph from TMNT as Katie realized with her heart in her throat that it was a dead-end. Spinning around wildly, she searched with terrified eyes for a means to escape or at least some type of a defense from the gangsters. Spotting a fire escape, Katie took her only chance as she scrambled up it without a thought. Once she was about half way up, she stopped, breathing heavily, and contemplated her options. She could go up the rest of the way to the roof and hide in a space closet or try to jump to the next roof over, or Katie could try to get someone to come help by beating on the window.

"D'eres da' bitch!"

Panicking, Katie threw her self at the nearest window and pounded on it desperately, hoping with all her heart someone would answer. Glancing down, she saw that the gang were only three windows down from her and closing in fast. Hitting the window one last time with her fist, Katie raced the rest of the way to the top. Making it to the top, she looked around wildly. There weren't any storage sheds, so try to jump it is. Looking at the closest one, she saw that it was the same height. Katie had never believed in God, but she did believe in Fate, so she sure hoped the bitch was feeling generous. Backing up until Katie felt she was ready, she surged forward, sprinting to the edge and jumping once she got to it before the desperate teen could convince her self otherwise.

Katie hit the edge with half her body hanging off as she scratched at the brick with her one good arm. Her body started slipping as she lost the lower half of her body to gravity. She promised her self if she got out here alive, she would find a way to give Fate one heck of a slap to the face. It didn't seem meant to be as she kept slipping against her best effort. Katie was just about fall, when she felt a bare hand grab her's at the last-minute, hauling her up and over the edge.

Once she was put on her feet, she looked up at the person who had saved her life. It was a man, with black spiky hair, brown eyes, and a skinny build. Katie gave a thankful smile, and was about to thank him verbally and maybe with a hug, when her injuries reminded her of their existence. Her legs shook as she tried to stay on her feet. The whole of her body was aching something fierce. It felt like Katie might have broken her ankle all the way instead of just sprained. Wouldn't be surprising since she'd been running, she probably had broken it farther than it already was. What had used to only feel like some one was hitting her in the head with a wrench, now felt like they had upgraded to a sledgehammer. Katie felt dizzy and suddenly, the ground was about to say hi to her poor head for a second time as she fainted.

Through the inky blackness, the last thing she saw was worried brown eyes looking into her half awake, pain filled blue ones. Then she succumbed to sleep.

* * *

**_April_**

_Two Days Earlier~_

"There. That's where I saw him"

The little boy told April, pointing his finger at a tree about fifty feet away. She smiled in thanks, ruffling his black as night hair as she passed. The red-head reached behind her and slid her katana out of sheath from where it was strapped to her back.

"Do you know the ghost?"

The young boy's made her turn slightly to look at him.

"He wasn't always a ghost"

April told him, before turning around and continued into the jungle.

As she walked, she thought of the reason she was in Central America in the first place. After quitting her job as a journalist, she had opened an antique store. One of April's biggest costumers,Matt Winters, owner and runner of Winters Corperation, had his heart set on acquiring a three thousand-year old statue based upon the likeness of the fourth general that was in a myth about an Aztec warlord named Yaotl and his four generals who had discovered a portal opening into a parallel universe which is said to have great power. Yaotl becomes immortal from the power, but his four generals were turned to stone.

This was the first reason anyway. The second one being that April had promised the Turtles (with the exception of Raph) that she would talk to Leo about why he hadn't come home a year and a half ago, when his training period was supposed to end. Besides, she missed the calm mannered turtle's company. She felt like there was a hole in her little make shift family that would only be filled by Leo's return.

April shook her self out her thoughts, continuing to slice though the overgrown plants in her path. She came across a little clearing, so she put her katana away in its sheath. A gun lay on the jungle floor, and she knelt to look at it. Deciding there still might be some humans in the forest, she stood up while taking the katana off her back.

"Hello?!"

April called out, swinging her katana in a slicing motion to move the plants out of her way. After walking for a few more seconds, she called out again.

"Hello? Is any one there?!"

A breeze suddenly came through, making the plants around her rustle. April walked onward into the bushes, pushing the plants out of her path. Suddenly, she was falling, with vines hanging around her. She tried to reach out and grab one, but she couldn't get a good grip on it. April was preparing to land on the ground in a heap, but instead of landing on the unforgiving ground as she expected, she landed in a pair of strong, warm and green arms. April looked up, and came face to face to a pair of familiar brown eyes.

"Hello, April. It's a long way from the city for you to just drop in" Leo joked.

"Leo" she said in greeting, a warm smile spreading over her face.

Once he sat her on her feet, April examined Leo's hide out. The whole under ground chamber in the corner where she had 'dropped in' as Leo had put, was covered in vines. In the other corner there was a fire and what appeared to be Leo's sleeping place.

Leo led her over to where the fire was crackling cheerfully, grabbing more wood for it along the way. When she sat down, the turtle dropped the wood on to the fire.

"You came all the way out here to look for me?" he said.

"Yes and no. I was already in the area on business when the local legend started sounding familiar, so I decided to snoop around" she responded.

"What kind of business?" Leo asked curiously, raising an eye ridge.

"Ancient artifacts. Some tycoon with too much time on his hand has his heart set on a 3000 year old" she told him.

"Hmf. Well you did always run with the strange crowd, April." he told her teasingly.

She sighed. "Yeah, well, our strange crowd hasn't been the same without you. Things aren't looking so good back home" she said, watching as he tensed slightly.

"Hm. How bad can it possibly be? Donnie's probably got everything under control" he responded.

April could sense the silent question in the response. "He hasn't had that much time. He took a job as an IT Tech Support." she told him. April could see the troubled expression on his face.

"Donnie's a genius, why would he take a job like that?" he asked.

"Well it's contributing to the family. At least he's keeping busy." she told him, trying to defend the brains of the group.

"Well if he's doing that, who's keeping an eye on Mikey?" Leo said, looking vaguely amused.

"Mike's gotten into the . .um, entertainment business. For kids' birthday party's. He's a real hit" literally she thought to her self with a mental wince. Who knew kids could be so vicious.

Leo sighed in defeat. "Alright, let's here it. What's Raph doing?" he asked, distinct wariness in his voice.

"No one really knows. He just . . . sleeps all day" she told the turtle. To be honest, she was kind of worried about the hot head. April hoped he wasn't getting in trouble.

"We'll what's he do at night?" he asked, leaning forward, looking deep in thought.

"Your training period ended a year ago. And, Splinter says you don't write anymore" she decided to change the subject.

Leo look a little irritated at this. "Splinter sent me down here to become a better leader to my brothers, I can't go back a failure. Besides, these people need me more than my brothers do" he said.

"If Master Splinter were here, he would ask what is you heart telling you" she said wisely.

"I don't know, it just feels like there's something missing" the turtle said, standing up and throwing the sick he'd been using to mess with the fire into the flames.

April looked at the ground. "Your brothers need you Leo. They're lost without you" she said, looking up. No one was there. April stood up quickly.

"Leo!?"

She called out. But she was too late. He had vanished into the darkness surrounding her.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A Spiders Thread_**

**_by NicoDiAngelo235_**

Speech Key:

"Talking"

_'thinking'_

**"Other language"**

**A/N:****Hello again, here's chapter 2. By the way, go check out ****You're the best Ninja Turtle I've ever met (Book 1) by Animelover210. It's an awesome read!**

**_Casey_**

Casey knew he should be asleep. He knew he had to pick up April the next day, when she would be coming home from her trip to Central America. She had gone there to get a three thousand-year old statue of some general for her boss. Well, officially anyway. April had promised the Turtles she would try to talk Leo into coming home, much to Raph's frustration. She had left a message saying she had found him a few days ago, but she hadn't left another after that, and Casey was starting to feel like April was never coming back. Actually, she had only been gone for about 3 months, but to Casey, it felt like a lifetime.

Anyway, it was to be known that he _should_ be asleep, but he wasn't. Something had woken him up. He lied there for a second, straining his ears for a disturbance. Usually, he was a pretty heavy sleeper, so had to be pretty loud to wake him up. There was a loud pounding sound, like someone hitting their hand against something. Slowly sitting up, he grabbed his baseball bat from the floor.

Casey tip toed across the living room, until he came to the window. Easing it open, he stepped out until his entire body was standing on the fire escape. The sounds were coming from the next building over. Deciding to go to the roof to see if he could see any thing, he climbed up as quietly as he could. When made it to the top, he looked around, trying to find out what had made the noise.

Out the corner of his eye, he saw a big dark shape take a running jump from the next building over, landing with half its body hanging off the edge. Without even thinking he rushed toward the struggling figure. Casey grabbed its hand and pulled with all his might, before setting whoever it was on his feet.

It was a girl.

That much was unmistakable. He couldn't tell any thing else about her features since it was so dark, but he could tell she was hurt. Her left arm hung limply at her side, she had scratches all over her face, and she was putting all her weight on her left foot. The battered figure suddenly swayed drunkenly. Casey just managed to catch her before her head crashed into the concrete roof.

The mysterious girl opened her eyes half way, looking into his. Her eyes were a piercing blue, the kind that always seem to be looking right in to your soul. Casey could see a lot from looking in her eyes. She was very frightened, her pupils were dilated to their largest capacity. He was also able to tell she was in pain, before the blue orbs of her eyes slid shut as she fainted.

Casey looked across the next roof over from where the limp girl in his arms had jumped, trying figure who she was running from that could make her look that terrified. He could see four guys, all wearing the same shirt and bearing the very familiar purple tattoos across from where he was standing. _'Purple Dragons' _he thought in disgust, suddenly feeling very sorry for this poor girl who had now doubt been chased, harassed, and possibly beaten by these dirtballs. It made the rage well up in him in righteous fury as he watched as all four of the men called out for the girl they had tormented, then scratching their head like confused apes, wondering where she went.

Casey shook his head, mentally telling his self he would kick Purple Dragon ass the next night on his vigilante run. The young man carried his unconscious passenger back to the apartment that he and April shared.

Lying the girl on the couch once he climbed back in the window, he went to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. Since meeting the guys, they had put it in an easily accessible place. With all the trouble the Turtles got into, it was used regularly. Coming back with the kit he flipped on the light on the way by. The first thing Casey noticed abou the girl was that she was pretty, with a heart-shaped face, plump lips, and hair streaked with white blonde hair on the top layer and chocolate-brown underneath. The second, was that she looked like she'd been hit by a car. Dark purple bruises covered what skin was exposed, especially on her left arm, Casey actually winced in sympathy just looking at it.

Examining the Jane Doe that was lying unconscious on his couch to find all her injuries, he concluded that she had a broken arm, a badly fractured ankle, and probably a cracked rib or two, based on her breathing patterns. He couldn't make sure about the rib for obvious reasons.

Deciding to do his best to patch her up, at least until April could take a look at her ribs, he got out the gauze and set to work.

* * *

**_Katie_**

_'I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here.'_ Was the first thing that Katie thought upon awakening from unconsciousness for the third time in row in the last few days. Immediately following that, was to wonder where the heck she was and if she was safe here.

Her eyes flew open from their earlier closed position as Katie sat up very quickly. She paid for it a second later as the room she was in tilted dangerously as the dizziness and nausea made its self known. The young teen slumped back on to the bed she found her self lying in and waited for it to pass. The symptoms eventually did pass, but it was done very gradually. So gradually, in fact, by the time the room stopped tilting on its axis and she didn't feel as if she would either fall over or throw up, Katie felt like the symptoms were going so slowly on purpose.

Once she was able to sit up, Katie became aware of her injuries in the same way as yesterday's awakening. Which was the pain slamming into her with all the blunt force of a truck full of lead going at hundred miles per hour. Katie's whole body lit up with aches and pains, the most prominent ones coming from her ribs, ankle and the worst one of all coming from her broken arm, with the one originating from her ankle coming in a close second. Thankfully, her head ache had gone from a sledgehammer pounding into her head to almost gone.

Katie turned her attention to the room she was in, which, she realized, was a bed room. The room was dark, but she could see the tiniest bits of light coming through the thick curtains on the window. It was also small and, except for the bed she was lying on and a dresser by the wall, it was bare. _'How did I get in here'_ she asked her self. Slowly, the confused girl threw the blankets off her. Some one had patched her up somewhat, her arm was in a makeshift sling, and her ankle and ribs were wrapped. Katie blushed scarlet, that someone who had wrapped her ribs had better been a girl!

Katie tried to remember how she ended up here, but all she remembered was some one saving her from falling. She remembered nothing after that but inky darkness. Seeing a door at the side of the room, she got up as quietly as possible from the bed. Katie tip toed over to the door, and was just putting her hand on the door knob when she heard a door open and close quietly somewhere in wherever she was. Thanking whatever entity who decided to listen that she had such excellent hearing, Katie scampered as quietly as possible to the bed, diving back in when she got there.

The wary girl laid back and pretended to be asleep as she strained her ears for any voices. Faintly, she heard what sounded like a pair of foot steps and whispering voices.

". . . heard something"

The voice was female. Katie heard a male voice respond, but she couldn't make out what it said. She heard the door she would have gone out of earlier open slowly. Then two voices.

"I told you she was still knocked out" said the male in a slightly gloating manner.

"I could have swore I heard something" responded the female, sounding a bit irritated.

"Well, we'll come check on her again in an hour" the male said back.

The female made a noise of grudging acceptance. Then the door closed, and the footsteps went to another room. Katie sighed, relaxing her previously tense muscles. She kind of wished she hadn't freaked when she'd heard the door. She sat up again, preparing her self for the wait.

_1 Hour Later~_

Katie had waited and hour and fifteen minutes exactly(she'd been counting), and the other two unknown people in the house had yet to show up. What! It wasn't like their was anything else to do. Besides, counting the cracks on the ceiling got boring pretty quick. The tall teen really hoped the two people who had helped her hadn't fallen asleep. She didn't think she'd be able to make her self fall asleep, she'd done it enough in the last few days.

Katie was rudely pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a door slam somewhere in the house or apartment(she wasn't sure which),again for the second time that day, vibrating the thing. It startled her, and to her utmost bad luck, made her jump slightly and tumble off the bed she was sitting in with a thump as she hit the floor.

Of course, she just _had _to land on her bad arm, causing her to hiss a pained "Damn it!"

It turned out to be a bit of a blessing, because not a second later a pair of foot steps headed to her room, and she heard her door open. Katie had some how got tangled in the blanket, so it took her a second to face the two people. Eventually she got her head free, and she promptly popped her head up to look at the two people who had come into the room.

The woman was petite, with a heart-shaped face, and pink lips that were twisted a little in amusement. She had red hair that fell a little past her shoulders, and she was thin. Said woman also had her eyebrow raised above the green orbs of her eyes in a questioning way. The woman's eyes danced with hidden amusement. The last thing Katie noticed was that she was wearing cream-colored pants and an orange shirt that hugged her form her in all the right ways.

The man was taller than Katie by a few inches. He had warm brown eyes and wavy black hair that just touched his shoulders. He was also skinny, but not in unhealthy way. The teen could see the rippling muscles underneath his snug fitting polo shirt. His pants were normal black jeans.

Katie recognized him immediately as the man who had saved her from falling to her death. She promptly smiled at the man warmly at the thought of it, with a slightly shy smile aimed at the read head. The three people just stood there examining each other in silence before the man broke it with a mischievous smile.

"So, ya finally awake, babe? Thought ya'd never wake up" he said, grinning when the teen on the floor blushed as red as a cherry and ducked her head down in flattered embarrassment.

No one had ever called Katie 'babe', usually they called her brains. And she didn't think they meant it as an endearment.

Instantly, the red-haired woman besides him smacked him in the back of the head.

"Casey Jones! Trust you to hit on a girl half your age. Now stop messing around." she scolded him, and then rolled her eyes as the man gave her a look like a kicked puppy.

Katie frowned. Casey Jones huh? Funny, he did kind of remind her of him. Now that she thought about it, he even looked a lot like him. The red-head looked and acted a lot like April O'Neil too. But that was impossible, she was sure it was just a coincidence, even if the read head was named April O'Neil. What Katie forgot was that most of the time coincidences were rarely just that, as she would soon learn in the next few hours.

Katie shifted to her attention back to Casey and the woman who had yet to introduce herself when said woman spoke.

"I'm April O'Neil by the way. If you don't mind, could I ask your name and age, please" the woman now known as April, asked politely.

The fifteen year old blushed scarlet again at her bad manners, finally untangling her self all the way from the blanket and standing to her full height.

"I apologize for my non-existent manners. The name's Katie Michelle Louise and I am 15, pleased to make your acquaintance." she said, offering her hand while shyly adverting her eyes from April's green ones.

April took the teen's hand, her eyes lighting up in surprise at her age then softening when she saw the girl's across from her shy demeanor. The red-head was surprised, she'd thought the girl would be at least in her twenties from her formal manners and height._'Just proves the saying don't judge a book by its cover.' _She thought, smiling at her inside joke.

"So Katie, could you tell me what you remember about last night" April prompted, watching as the teen stiffened slightly and a shadow crossed over her face.

Katie was panicking at the question, but she tried not to let her feelings show as her sharp mind raced to dig her out of the hole she'd created for her self. _'Damn it, I wish I could have thought of a cover story while was waiting instead of counting the minutes'_ she thought frustratingly. In the back of her mind, she suddenly got an idea. You could say the light when off. Then, she started speaking, making it up as she went.

"Well April, I just moved here from New Hampshire. I've been home schooled all my life and I decided to move here when my grandmother passed away six months ago. Yesterday, I was out looking for a job so I could pay for a flat and I got lost while I was trying to find my way to home, then I got cornered by those men."

Katie didn't have to fake the shutter of fear.

"I was running away from them when I hit a dead-end. I managed to climb the fire escape and I tried to get help by beating on a window, but it wasn't working. I remember running all the way to roof, and then trying to jump to the next building over. I almost made it but I was starting to slip. I was about to fall, when someone grabbed my hand and pulled me up" she flicked her eyes to look at Casey "Then the next thing I remember was waking up here" she finished.

Some of it was the truth, so Katie wasn't out right lying. Even though she felt horrible, she knew if she told them the real story they would think she was nuts. She pulled her self from her thoughts to give Casey a sincere smile.

"Thank you, by the way. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't helped me" she told him.

Case grinned, waving her off. "Don't ya mention it, babe. All in a days work" he told her, smiling in amusement as she blushed again.

April put her head in her hand in defeat, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'incorrigible'. She looked up, at thoughtful expression on her face. The red-head stayed like that for a few minutes, before turning and looking at Katie.

"Well Katie, I just so happen to run an antique store, and I've thought that I needed some help. You can also crash in here, if you want" she said.

Katie shook her head "Oh, I don't want to impose" April cut her off.

"Trust me, you won't be. Besides, I want to keep an eye on you. It would be a shame if all of my hard work I put into patching you up went to waste" she said with a smile.

"If your sure . . ." the teen muttered reluctantly. At April's nod, she admitted defeat. "Okay" she said.

"Excellent, we'll take our leave then" she said, clapping her hands together then standing and walking out the door. Casey gave the blue-eyed teen standing across from him one last reassuring smile before following April out the door, shutting it behind him.

Katie waited until she couldn't hear their footsteps anymore before she blew out the breath she wasn't even aware she'd been holding in out relief. She threw herself back on the bed, putting her fingers to her temples and trying to massage away the infernal headache that was trying with its best effort to start-up again. The emotionally exhausted teen laid there for a few minutes, just trying to figure out how all this could happen. If you had told her she would go through all the things she had through the last few days, Katie would've recommended you admit yourself to the nearest mental hospital.

Immediately.

Never the less, it had happened. She was pretty sure she would have known if she was dreaming, at least she usually did. This couldn't be a dream, for the simple fact that her dreams were usually way wackier. Her mind had come up with some pretty nutty things over the years. Besides, her dreams usually featured favorite characters of hers, and even if April and Casey had the same feature and personality as the ones from TMNT, didn't mean any thing. It was probably just a simple coincidence, and she would believe that until she saw a six-foot, talking, walking turtle. Katie rolled her eyes at her current train of thought, like that would ever happen.

Katie clearly had forgotten that Da Nile wasn't just a river in Egypt.

_The Next Morning~_

Katie had always been an an early riser. It wasn't an unnatural occurrence for her to be up as early as five in the morning. She had used the extra two hours to read online using either her computer or iPhone. This means she was awake long before the two others in the house. Still uncomfortable about April letting her live with her and Casey, Katie decided that since the red-head was giving her a job and a place to stay, the least the teen could do was make Casey and April breakfast.

That was why when April came walking in the kitchen at seven, she was surprised by seeing three plates full of bacon, eggs and sausage sitting at the table with Katie sitting and eating in one of the chairs, her back to her.

The red-head raised an eyebrow "What's all this?" she asked, a smile threatening to spread across her face.

The girl at the table jumped, squeaking in fright. She whirled around to face April, a glare on her face. Once she saw who it was, the glare that could have killed someone was wiped from her face. It was replaced by a guilty expression.

Katie had thought about how she could have possibly ended up in the ocean that bordered New York when April had come in. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn't heard the older woman enter the kitchen. April was wearing a polo shirt with a pair a shorts, he red hair pulled into a simple braid. Suddenly, she realized the red-head across from her might not have appreciated someone she had just met rummaging around in her kitchen. Katie blushed under April's stare.

"W-well I thought since you were doing so much for me, the least I could do was make you both breakfast" she said nervously. "I-if you didn't want anything to eat, I could save it for tomorrow" the shy girl continued, staring at her shoes. She was startled as she heard tinkling laughter. Katie snapped her head up to look at the laughing April.

"There's no need to look so guilty, it was very thoughtful of you to make us breakfast. Besides, this means I don't have to make it for the bottomless pit" the woman said, smiling warmly.

Right on cue, said bottomless pit strolled into the kitchen.

"Hey babe, what's cookin' " he asked. Casey threw an arm around April's shoulders, looking at the teen at the table. Shrugging the arm off, she flicked her eyes over to look at Katie.

"It wasn't me, Katie made us both breakfast" she told him.

Casey smiled a goofy smile. "Great! Much thanks to ya', I was starving" he declared, pulling up a chair and siting down. His girlfriend followed his example at a much quieter rate, rolling her eyes when the man wasn't looking.

Simultaneously, they both took a bite of the food, and moaned in delight. Once they both swallowed, they both proceeded to praise Katie's cooking skills. Said girl blushed, muttering under breath that it wasn't that good. Both of them heard it and starting say how it was one of the best meals they'd ever had. That just made Katie blush a deeper shade of red.

Once she had taken her last bite and put the plate in the sink, April addressed Katie.

"Come on kid, we'll start today" she told her younger companion. Said girl followed the older woman out of the apartment, feeling extremely nervous. The young teen was afraid that April would change her mind once she got to know her. After all, people had told her countless times how annoying and irritating she was._'It probably won't take me long for me to mess this up'_ she thought miserably, staring at her feet.

They came to the building that Katie assumed was where April ran her business. The red-head unlocked the door, holding it open behind her to let the teen. The blue-eyed girl examined the room. The place was about two hundred fifty feet from wall to wall. Shelves of old-looking antiques, jewelry and vases stacked half way to the ceiling. The checkout was a few feet from the door and a little to the right. There was a cash register and a place for people to take money off their credits cards. Behind the checkout, she could see a door leading to a back room.

Katie turned from her observing when she heard April clear her throat. She blushed, staring at the floor as April looked at her in amusement. Said woman watched her for a few more seconds before she spoke.

"Okay, I'm going to go work in the back. Can you woman the catch register for me? Just for when someone comes in" she asked. Katie nodded, still never making direct contact with April's eyes. As her older companion went into the back room, the teen leaned against the counter. She realized that this was the longest time that she had ever talked to someone out side her family. Katie laughed inside at the realization. It was typical for her to think about that when it had nothing to do with anything what so ever.

The day was pretty quiet, with only a few customers coming in to look at the merchandise. They were all very polite and well-mannered. By closing time, Katie felt a bit better about working for April. Once they both were out side, April held her back.

"I need to pick up a few things at the store and I thought you might want to come with" she said.

Katie was surprised. "S-sure I guess I could" she stuttered. April smiled at her warmly.

"The grocery store is only a few blocks away, so we can walk" she told her, as she began walking briskly to the east with Katie trailing after her.

They had walked for about five minutes when April spoke up.

"So Katie, tell me about yourself." she said. The teen was surprised. No one in her entire life had ever asked her about her self. They all just assumed things.

"Well, I'm not really that interesting." Katie said, staring at the ground.

"Nonsense. Every body has some thing that is interesting about them" she told her.

Katie shook her head. " Not with me. But, if you really want to know . . . . ." The red-head beside her nodded. "Alright then, you already know my name and age so I'll skip those two. I really like animals, my favorite being the horse and cat. I have tried having pet turtles, but I almost always eventually set them free. I also enjoy drawing, mostly mangas and anime, because that's mostly what I watch, but only if they have fighting in them. I love to read and write. And my favorite kind of movies are crime and fantasy." she told the older woman.

Out of the corner of her eye, she had though she saw April's lips twitch into a smile when she mentioned the turtle part. _'Your just imagining things'_ she told herself.

"I've always wanted to take martial arts lessons, but my grandmother couldn't afford to send me. She just gave me some pepper spray and told me aim for the eyes or the crotch" Katie jumped when April laughed.

"You know, I took some lessons a few years ago. I could teach you a few thing if you want." Katie's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really!?" at April's nod, the teen stopped and jumped at her with an excited squeal. April hugged her back, startled. The girl was always so shy, it was refreshing to see her excited about some thing. After Katie calmed down and realized what she had done, she jumped off April, making a realistic impression of a tomato.

"Sorry, but it's been a dream of mine since I turned twelve" she explained, staring determinedly at the ground. Katie was surprised at her self, she hadn't really hugged some one other than her grandma or her mother. She couldn't remember the last time she felt that excited about some thing. Not since her grandmother passed away anyway.

"Don't worry about it, it's alright" April told the younger girl, patting her shoulder.

Not long after that, they came to their destination. Katie and April worked together to get everything they needed. With both joined, it wasn't long before they got everything they had come there from. They walked home in a comfortable silence, neither of them feeling the need to fill the silence. Once they arrived at April's, Katie helped put everything away, before retreating to her room.

The tired teen closed the door behind her with a soft click. She leaned against it, sliding slowly to the floor. Her ankle was killing her, and her ribs were well on their way to being a nuisance too. She just sat there for a second, trying to organize the chaos of her mind. It was kind of embarrassing, but she had got this idea from watching Splinter off TMNT meditate and Occulmency from Harry Potter. What she was doing wasn't exactly meditating, nor was it Occulmency. Katie was going to her 'happy place', that is what she called it. She did this when she had something bothering her, and she just needed to relax.

In her mind, she was sitting in a clearing in the woods with wild flowers surrounding her. The sun was beating down on her face, and there was a gentle breeze blowing around her. She opened her eyes, staring up at an endless blue sky. Breathing in deeply, she could smell the erotic scent of the wild flowers around her.

Slowly, she let the image and feelings fade until she opened her eyes and found her self in the room April had given her. Feeling much more relaxed and at peace, she decided she might benefit from good old-fashioned human contact. On the way down the hall, she heard low voices talking. It sounded like Casey and another male voice speaking. She frowned, she didn't know he was having friends over. Katie stepped in to the living area and froze.

_'What the hell!'_ She thought, staring at the back of Casey, and what looked remarkably like Raph in the Nightwatcher costume with his helmet off. Katie must have gasped, because they both spun to face her. She found herself staring into a pair of surprised brown eyes.

_'Well'_ she thought to herself, _'there's your proof Katie'_

* * *

_**Sup peeps! Review!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A Spiders Thread**_

_**by NicoDiAngelo235**_

Speech Key:

"talking"

_'thinking'_

**"Other language"**

**A/N****:Hello, here it is. I'm pretending Leo came home a month after April did and that the stars aligned a few days after he gets there. Also, I would like to thank thepunkcowgirl and be1smoke for being my first two reviewers! Thanks a lot guys! You rock! To answer question be1smoke, I'm actually going somewhere with that! You have to wait to find out!**

**_Katie_**

Katie's sharp mind went completely blank in the second that her eyes met Raph's intense amber brown ones. His eyes were wide with surprise at first, then they narrowed with some unknown emotion. They almost seemed to glow with a bright inner fire. The tall teen let her eyes roam to the rest of his body. The turtle was taller than her then by about four inches, she had to actually look up to look him in the eye. He was wearing his Nightwatcher costume, with his helmet tucked under his arm. Raph looked exactly as the 2007 movie potrade him, sleek with the rippling muscles on his arms and legs.

Katie realized they were waiting for her to scream, and just like that, her mind came from the strange haze it had been in. She wasn't going to scream, she was shocked alright, but not that shocked. Maybe if she acted startled but good-natured it would seem a normal reaction? There was no more time for her to think up anything else.

She turned to Casey with exaggerated slowness.

"C-Casey...y-you see him too right?!" she didn't have to fake the startled expression on her face, nor the squeakiness. At Casey's nod she sighed in relief.

"Thank Mother Rhea. For a second there, I thought I had just dived off the deep end" she said, sighing in relief.

Katie's eyes lit up in interest as she actually considered her situation. The blue-eyed teen had always wondered how the turtles bodies had functioned and delt with diseases when ever she had watched the show. This was her chance to find out! Practically running up to the wary terrapin, Katie went in for a closer look at Raph. Getting close to his face, she could tell that his skin had scales, and was probably rough to the touch. When she was going to find out if her theory was correct, her naturally shy demeanor decided to rear its ugly head.

Katie quickly retracted her hand, blushing under Raph's somewhat guarded stare.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just shocking! You don't n-normally see a six-foot testudines that has the ability to walk on two legs" she stuttered. Raph looked surprised again with a small amount of confusion mixed in.

"Testudines is the scientific name for the terrapin family" she muttered, looking down in embarrassment. Sometimes, Katie cursed her intelligent mind.

"It's fine" he told her. His voice was deep and rough.

"If you don't mind me asking, how this. . . .occur?" She asked, gesturing to his body. Katie already knew, of course. She was just asking for every one else's sake.

Raph looked uncertain, and glanced over at Casey, who had been quiet so far. Katie backtracked quickly.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to" she told him softly, looking down. To be honest, she was a little hurt. The tall girl knew it wasn't rational, Raph had just met her after all. Nether the less, the giant turtle had been some thing like a role model to her, growing up. He was so fierce, brave, and confident in what he did and who he was, nothing like Katie at all. Raph has always been her favorite on the many shows and movies she had watched, with Donnie being a close second. Katie had thing for tough guys, and smart ones too.

Shaking her self from her thoughts, she found Raph studying her.

"It's alright, I don't mind" he said gruffly. He told her the story, about how Splinter had lost his master to the Shredder and had found him and his brothers swimming in green ooze in the sewers of New York and had decided to help them, getting some of the ooze on him in the process.

"That's an amazing story" she told him her eyes shining in awe. Katie had known the story, but it was still and amazing scientific miracle. She wondered how many traits of his animal nature he and his brothers had kept. Did they have a mating season? Could they reproduce? Did they're genetic make up resemble a human's or a turtle's? Or was it a mix of the two, creating a whole new species? So many questions, so little answers. She had asked herself these questions before when she had watched the all the different television series and movies, but now she had the chance to actually answer them. Not that she would actually ask, she wasn't nearly brave enough to even attempt to ask, let alone think about.

Katie came out of her thoughts when Raph cleared his throat. She realized that him and Casey were looking at her expecting her to say something. Blushing, she quickly explained her self.

"I'm sorry, it's just that this is a scientific miracle! Do you realize how amazing it is for you to be a fully functioning sentiment being? Besides I've always loved animals" once again, Raph looked startled.

"You don't think I'm weird or strange?" he asked cautiously.

She looked down, suddenly finding her feet very interesting as she said her next words.

"I would never call you weird or strange, just how you came to be. Every one has something weird or strange about them, with some it's just more noticeable than others" she told him quietly. With all the times people had called her those two words-not to mention many others-she would never say them to describe another person.

Casey laughed loudly suddenly, causing her to jump with a feminine squeak. As she blushed under Raph's amused stare, Casey came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You really are something, babe. To think you actually think big and green over here isn't weird." he teased. Raph punched him in the arm for that remark.

The tall turtle looked down at her again, suddenly getting a hard look in his amber eyes "You're not going to tell any one about me" he said. It wasn't a question, but she answered any way.

"No, I'm not. Besides, the only people I know here are April and Casey." Katie told him. Raph stared into her eyes, most likely trying to figure out if she was lying. Apparently, he found what he was looking for, because he turned his head to look at Casey. The two had a silent conversation with their eyes, before Raph turned back to the teenager staring at him.

"I've got to head home." he said. Looking into Raph's eyes, she saw a glint of emotion in them Katie couldn't decipher. Before she find it, he turned and climbed out the window. He shut it behind him before he disappeared into the darkness.

The exhausted teen just stood and stared into the darkness of night that one of her most loved character of all time had just disappeared into. She looked over at Casey, who had watched her, appearing to be waiting for something. Katie shook her head, turning and heading back to the room her hosts had so graciously given to her.

She closed the door behind her with a soft sigh. Then, the teen threw her self down on the bed, rubbing her poor aching temples. For Pete's sake, it had been a long day. Wait, scratch that, it had been a long three days. Her brain was trying to catch up with all the nutty and insane stuff that had happened to her. _'Talk about irony. Usually, it's my body that slowing down my brain, not the other way around'_ she thought with a touch of amusement.

Katie sighed, she was distracting her self. '_Okay girl, just list all the facts and go from there_.' she thought, taking a cleansing breath. Fact 1- She had somehow ended up in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after passing out from crashing her bike. The memory of it played in her mind like a movie. We'll, she couldn't seem to find anything that could indicate-

Wait. Pause. Rewind.

Yep, she definitely saw and felt something before she had passed out. Concentrating hard, she played back the memory for a third time in slow motion focusing on what she had felt and saw.. There it was. Through the pain and dizziness, a flash of blinding white light and a feeling of...shifting? Yes, a shifting feeling, like being pulled by the arm sideways . She frowned, that sounded familiar. Katie filed that away to think about after she got past all the facts.

Fact 2-Katie had been chased by some thugs. She shivered. Okay, moving on. Fact 3-Casey had saved her. Fact 4- April and Casey had tended to her injuries, given her a place to live and a job. Fact 5- She had just met one of her most revered character of her life so far.

Katie furrowed her eyebrows. Did that count as a fact? Was she sure this wasn't just one of her mind's messed up dreams? Well there one way to find out.

Ouch.

Well it wasn't a dream. It was a very cliché thing to do, but it was effective never the less. She had done this before when she was actually dreaming, just to see if it would work. And it had. She had felt no pain what so ever. And the teen had known there was nothing wrong with her nerves because she could feel her finger with her skin, yet she felt no pain.

Anyway, back to the point. Based on his appearance and the fact that he had a Nightwatcher costume, she was probably in the 2007 CGI movie. Which meant there was huge chance of 13 horrendous monsters running around. That was something to worry about. What if she went out late and got cornered by one of them? _'Definitely not taking any late night trips if I can hep it_' she thought with a small shutter.

Wait a second! If Raph was here, that would mean his two other brothers were too! With the other one on the way!_ 'Well it looks like someone decided I should be invited to join the party'_ she thought wryly. Should Katie actually interact with them? She didn't want to mess up the time stream, if she wasn't careful, she could create a paradox. Then this dimension would try to get rid of the problem the only way it knew how, by erasing it. And Katie rather not be erased from existence. She would have to be extra careful with interacting with everyone.

Now, what had that flash been? And that weird feeling? Had she been touching some ancient artifact that had acted as a trans-dimensional gateway? Or had some unknown entity decided she was worthy of going to the place she knew so well? So many questions, so little answers.

It was starting to give her a headache again. _'Maybe I should just sleep on it'_ she thought wearily. Nodding to her self, she went to the dresser in the corner that April had told her she had put some of her clothes in. Grabbing a T-shirt and some shorts, she threw off what she was wearing and put the two of them on, folding her clothes she had just took off. She took off her glasses and set them on the dresser. Then Katie climbed into bed with a sigh, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

_~The Next Morning~_

Katie was slow to wake up. Her mind was hazy with the half-formed images that were her dreams. If fact, she would very much like to go back to her blissful slumber. But her body was entirely against her going back to sleep. It was urging her to get out of bed on the account that it was hungry, and it could smell food being cooked. And damn it, it demanded something to eat. So it was that with almost feral snarl in the direction of her traitorous stomach, she got out of bed and got dressed, grumbling nonsense to her self in irritation. Now, Katie was a morning person, but she adored her sleep. And she really pitied the poor bastard who would have to meet her before she got her morning coffee.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw that it was April that was responsible for the heavenly smelling food that had awakened her from her slumber. Growling out a reluctant greeting to the women, she got to together all the ingredients she would need for almost the worshiped elixir she loved so much. Soon she was sitting at the table in the tiny kitchen with a steaming cupful of the stuff, humming happily as she sipped it. It was like watching night change to-day as Katie turned from a grumpy jerk to her usual shy self. Looking up as April set a plate with the breakfast she had made in front of, she directed a hesitant smile at the woman.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for my rude greeting. It's just that I'm not a particularly nice person if I haven't had my morning coffee." She looked down at the table top sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, my friend Donnie is the same way, I'm used to it." April laughed, waving off her apology. Then she froze, as if she hadn't meant to say that. Katie pretended not to notice, trying to look busy with eating. After the red-head realized the younger hadn't realized she had tensed, she relaxed. Casey came in a second later, and after he greeted April with a morning kiss, he sat down at the table with a plate of his own. The threesome ate in a somewhat comfortable silence, the clinking of the silverware when it made contact with the glass plate the only thing to be heard.

All to soon they were all finished and the previous comfortable air was replaced by a serious one. They all simply sat in the silence, staring at one another. Katie was hesitant to break it, instead deciding to wait until April or Casey did.

"So, you met Raphael?" it was April that broke the silence first.

Katie knew that Raph had never given her his name, so she put up a confused façade. "Like, _'The School of Athens'_? she asked, cocking her head to the side. She spotted the older woman's lip twitch, but it was only for a moment.

"No, you met him last night" April said. Katie's face lit up in realization, like a light bulb coming on in a dark room.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He never gave me a name." She told them, ducking her head in what seemed to be embarrassment. In reality, she had ducked her head to hide her proud smile. Katie had an excellent Poker Face, if she did say so her self.

"We just wanted to make sure ya weren't going to turn 'im over to a science lab or somethin'." Casey said, looking grim.

Katie shook her head. "Never, it would be cruel person indeed who would do that to any one or thing. I'm a science geek, but all life is precious" she told them fiercely. The two adults relaxed, and the air instantly seemed lighter. "Since we're on the topic, I was going to ask if I could talk with him again some time and maybe meet his brothers?. Raphael seemed like an interesting person to know, if that's alright with you" she said, looking at her hands from where they sat on the table top. This time, she wasn't faking the shyness.

April and Casey looked at each other, seemingly speaking with just their eyes. They turned to look at the nervous girl across from them, who had lifted her head to look them in the eye. The two looked at her for a second, before they both smiled at her, nodding their heads in acceptance.

Katie smiled at both of them. "Thanks for trusting me, I won't let you down" she told them. "So, how did you guys meet Raphael and his brothers. If you don't mind me asking?" she asked, curiously.

Casey and April exchanged a smiles. "That is story for another time." they said in union. She pouted, she had hoped she could find out exactly what universe she was in. Guess she would have to find out another way.

_~That Evening~_

Eleven hours later found Katie getting ready to meet her favorite heroes of all time. April and Casey had decided that the guys and their father and Katie should 'get to know each other'. But the blue-eyed teen knew that this was just a ruse so Splinter could find out if she meant any of them harm. The old rat had a gift for it, she knew. So this being what it was, it just made Katie all the more nervous and skittish. She had always been horrible at meeting new people. Her shy nature made it made her stutter and ramble, not to mention she would blush a cherry red. It was all Katie could do not to run into the room the two had given her and lock the door. And they weren't even here yet!

April seemed to notice Katie's frazzled nerves, because her eyes shone with pity every time she looked at the girl. It was obvious she could see the nervousness on her face as plain as the day.

"Don't look so nervous, they won't bite" she told her, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. It seemed the red-head had decided to try to reassure her.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just . . . . I don't have the best track record when it come to meeting new people." she mumbled, staring down at the food she had helped April make.

"I'm sure you'll do fine" the older woman nudged her in the side with her elbow a little.

"If you say so..." the younger sighed, sounding unconvinced. Katie picked up the plate she had just filled with food, carrying it in to the dining room. It was a little difficult, with her left arm and her right ankle in a cast , but she managed anyway. Katie froze for an instant as she spotted the three familiar shapes of Splinter, Donnie, and Raph sitting at the table, but she didn't want them to think she was scared of them, so she continued walking as if nothing was wrong. She sat the plate in front of Splinter first, before she half turned her body to the red and purple masked turtles. "You'll get yours in a sec" she told them. Raph grunted, while Donnie simply nodded. The latter seemed to be studying her. The blue-eyed teen turned as the rat beside her cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Thank you, young one. Allow me to introduce myself and my sons. My name is Splinter and this is Donatello. I believe you have already met Raphael" he said, gesturing at the two turtles.

Katie nodded her head respectfully at Donnie and Splinter "It very nice to meet you, Master Splinter and Donatello." She saw Splinter raise and eye brow, but he said nothing. It was Donnie who asked instead.

"How did you know to he was a Master?" he sounded curious and a bit suspicious. Katie turned and smiled at him.

"It's the way he holds himself, like he is ready to move at a moments notice. Plus, I heard Ms. O'Neil refer to him as Master Splinter" she told him, not quite meeting his eyes. But she could still tell that he looked surprised. Then, he lifted his eyes to look behind her. She furrowed her brow in confusion. "What are-" she started to ask, but she was interrupted.

"Hi!" a voice behind her said. Katie jumped with a small squeak, jumping around to look at what had scared her. But, apparently Fate had decided to be a bitch to her recently, so she tripped over her own feet and stumbled back until she fell right into someone's lap. Looking up, she found her self staring into surprised coffee brown eyes. _'Pretty'_ she didn't have time to think on that thought, because at that moment, she had caught sight of the purple mask that framed said eyes. To her horror, she realized she had fallen right into Donnie's lap! She scrambled to feet, blushing furiously. Mumbling an apology, the teen turned to look a the person responsible for her little tumble, and found to her self to be not all that surprised to see the orange wearing turtle known as Mikey.

"Whoa, sorry dudette! I didn't mean to scare you." the rambunctious turtle told her. He rubbed the back of head sheepishly.

"It's okay" she muttered. Still blushing heavily, She slipped past him, keeping her head bowed. _'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why do you always have to embarrass yourself?!' _She berated herself mentally. The teen figured she shouldn't be surprised. It was a thing to be expected with her track record. Katie really hoped she hadn't just destroyed any chance of friendship she could have had with them. From behind the way she came, her ears caught the sound of someone snickering. They were laughing at her! Katie supposed she would some day find this moment hilarious, but right now she wasn't laughing!

As she walked into the kitchen, April looked up from her place by the stove. Thankfully, she didn't ask what the younger was blushing about. The woman walked past her, carrying two plates as she went. Katie stood for a second, before she grabbed the last one and turned to go back the way she came.

She entered the room and sat down at her chair without meeting anyone's eyes, even though she could feel all their gazes practically burning holes through her. Quietly, she began eating slowly.

The tall girl realized that they had put her where they could all see every move she made, which just happened to be farthest from the door. Even before she got to it, she would have to go through Casey and Raph. _'They certainly aren't taking any chances'_ she thought nervously.

Katie was wrenched from her thought when she felt someone tapping her arm. Looking up, she saw Mikey's cheerful face looking at her with a mix of curiosity and excitement.

"So dudette, do you like comic books?" he asked, bouncing in his seat slightly.

"Y-Yes" she stuttered shyly. Mikey grinned so big that she thought his face would split for minute.

"Awesome! Have you ever read the Justice Force?!" he asked excitedly.

"They're one of my favorites" she told him, smiling as she realized that she could actually talk to someone about her love for super heroes who wouldn't laugh at her.

"No way! Mine too! Which is your favorite?" Katie was pretty sure that his grin just got bigger, if that was even possible.

"I like all of them, but if had to choose, I would say Doctor Dome for his vast intellect."

"Mine's Battling Bernice! The original one" he said, bouncing in his seat again.

"She is pretty good too" Katie felt some of her shyness leaving her as she watched as Mikey turned to talk to his red banded brother. The kid was bouncing in his seat like a pinball on steroids. Her lips twitched into a smile on their own accord. She couldn't help it, the youngest terrapin just had aura about him made her want to relax. But besides that, he reminded her of her little brother. Mikey's childish energy matched her younger brother's. Katie suddenly felt a river sadness rush through her. Was he doing okay? Did he miss her? _'Stupid, of course he does'_ she scolded her self.

Katie was jerked out of her thoughts when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Looking up, she found her self looking at a certain purple wearing genius.

"You okay? You look like something is bothering you" he looked a bit concerned.

"I'm fine" Katie gave him an artificial smile. "Really" she added when she noticed his skeptical look. Donnie still looked unconvinced, but he let it go, turning back to his food. The blue-eyed girl followed his example, her mind wandering as she did.

The sharp minded girl still couldn't figure out how she could have possibly gotten in this dimension. She furrowed her eyebrows in frustration, glaring down at her food. If only she could remember more! A feeling of being shifted and a bright light wasn't much to go on. Sighing to herself, she was suddenly reminded of the familiarity of the words 'a shifting feeling' she had felt last night. Eyes brightening in excitement, she focused on the thought, trying to remember where she had heard the words from. Suddenly, a voice flashed through her mind.

_"We're all made up of atoms, and atoms are mostly made of empty space. So you could, theoretically, have paraell universes occupying the same place, but vibrating at different frequencies. A slight shift of atoms, and presto! You're in an entire different dimension."(1)_

Of course! It was so obvious! Why hadn't she thought of it before?! Quantum Theory was one the most well-known hypothesis in the world! _'Thank you, 2003 Donnie. And my mom said that TMNT was useless!'_ She smiled smugly to herself. Now she had something to go on! Unless she found evidence suggesting otherwise, of course. Guess she would just have to wait and see.

Katie shook herself out of her thoughts when she noticed that she had finished her food. Quietly, she got up and put her plate in the sink. Sitting back down, she sat there for a second, bored. The teen bit her lip in indecision. Should she ask April? Taking a look at the red-haired woman, who seemed to be preoccupied with talking to Splinter about something, she decided to just get it herself.

Sliding out of her seat, she went to the drawer that she had thought she saw April get some paper out of. When she opened it up and looked inside, it was empty. Brows pulling together in confusion, she shut it and went to open the next one. Maybe it was-

"What are you doing?"

"Son of a-" she started to say, jumping and snapping her head over to look at the perpetrator. Mikey stood there, blinking at her innocently. Katie blushed at being caught, taking her hand of the handle of the drawer quickly.

"I w-was l-looking for some papers and pencil." she mumbled, ducking her head shyly.

She didn't have to look up to know Mikey grinned.

"Oh, is that all? It's right in here" he said, reaching around her and pulling open a drawer that was one down from the one she was about to open. Sure enough, they were there. She grabbed about four of the pages, shutting the drawer when she was done. Turning, she gave the smallest terrapin a tentative smile.

"Thanks" she kept the smile on her face for a second, before she turned and walked back to her seat. Mikey followed, giving her a wink when he sat down. After that, he turned and started bugging Raph again.

Katie looked down at the blank paper in front of her, biting her lip absent mindedly as she tried to decide what to draw. She started looking around the table, searching for some inspiration. Her eyes strayed to the three brother and she began to draw.

An hour later, her previously blank white pages were filling with images of Raph, Mikey, and Donny. The one with Raph had him ridding a motorcycle. The one of Donnie showed him tinkering with some unidentifiable object. Mikey's was a picture of him listening to music.

But the last piece of paper was her favorite by far. It was one with all of them in it, and Splinter, Casey, and April, too. They were all sitting in a room that looked a lot like April's living room, doing their own thing. Raph was in the corner by the door, talking with Casey about something. He was punching one hand into another, so it seemed like it was something violent. Don in April were in the opposite corner, talking with excited looks on their faces. Mikey and Splinter were right in the middle, with Mikey caught in mid chatter. Splinter looked like he was chuckling and his hand was rested affectionately on his youngest head.

During the time it took for her to draw all these, everyone had already finished their meal. The three brothers and their father were already about to leave. She stood from her chair, twisting and bending to make her stiff muscles pop. As Casey and April exchanged goodbyes with their friends, Katie stood awkwardly by the TV; feeling out-of-place.

The teen looked up when she heard someone moving toward her, but she was only able to see a flash of orange before she was picked up in a hug. She squeaked in surprise as she was spun around in the air. Once she was put down, her startled gaze turned to the green and orange hurricane known as Mikey.

"What was that for?" she was proud to say she didn't stutter this time. Mikey gave her a grin that give the sun a run for its money.

"You looked like you needed one" he said simply. Her lips twitched into a genuine smile, telling with him her eyes that she appreciated it. Splinter seemed to notice what his son had done, if his twinkling eyes was any indication. He was next to approach her, bowing when he got there.

"It was very nice to meet you, Miss. Louise."

She was slightly startled at the bow, but she returned it anyway.

"It was nice to meet you as well, Master Splinter." She thought she saw the rats eyes light up with approval at her bow, but he turned away before she could confirm it. Lastly, Raph came over. He stuck out his hand in farewell, but not rudely. The teen got the impression he didn't know what to make of her yet. After she shook his hand(he had a very strong grip) they took their leave. When the door swung shut, she stood and stared at it for a minute. Then with a tired sigh she went and helped April with the dishes. Once they were all neat and clean, she retreated to her room.

Katie had originally planned to stay up awhile after the turtles and Splinter left, but she hadn't counted on the fact that she was exhausted. She quickly put her drawings on the dresser, throwing off her day clothes and on her night ones. She crawled in bed and went to sleep just as her head hit the pillow, her dreams sure to be filled by three turtle and their rat father.


End file.
